Techno-mail just adds to our isolation

Published: Monday, July 26, 2004 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, July 26, 2004 at 12:00 a.m.

I've been wondering lately how the Romans ever built roads all over Europe or George Washington ever ran the Revolutionary War without e-mail. In fact, how did we get the Magna Charta, the Mayflower Compact, the U.S. Constitution, and the wherewithal to put a man on the moon without e-mail?

The modern world has developed an absolute obsession with communication. Suddenly people who never wrote a letter to anyone are sending everyone they know e-mails. You have to wonder if there was a sudden rush to write letters in the days when the Pony Express first developed the idea of fast communication.

Here's a well-kept historical secret: We used to do something very similar with a pen and paper and a stamp.

But it seems that these days we've grown so accustomed to instant communication that we've forgotten how sweet it is to have a letter where we can see the person's handwriting, savor the touch of their hand on the paper and touch it ourselves. An interesting thought to consider: What if some genius decides our kids don't need to learn to write in longhand anymore, in the same way that some have already decided they don't need to learn to do math in their heads anymore? What happens when they don't have a calculator handy and their brains haven't developed that set of skills?

Or what if we actually decided that paper is too environmentally costly and we need to stick to e-mails? Each form of communication has its place and importance. It is when we allow new methods to totally eclipse the old that we're in danger of losing something many do not understand the value of, like old letters that still smell of the one who wrote them.

Few people realize how much we've lost touch with each other because of modern communication methods. Isn't that ironic? The very thing that's supposed to keep us in touch instead slips more and more distance between us. How often have we been frustrated to hear, "I don't have time to talk right now, but send me an e-mail?"

There is absolutely no substitute for the interaction of human beings face to face, or voice to voice. How many confused students in college have asked their professors to advise them and been told to jot down their request in an e-mail?

Also, there are people who send on every funny, clever, informative e-mail they get to everyone they know. The problem is, most of them really are worth reading, many even worth saving. But how much of this can you deal with and still have time to go on with your life?

Doesn't it make you wonder how many gems of wisdom and wit you missed all those years before e-mail? And how on earth did the entire human race ever stay in business before the United States Postal Service went into operation?

Then there is the simple fact that there are still some of us who don't sit down with our mail immediately. You know the saying, old habits die hard? Unfortunately, there are a lot of us in that gray zone where we hate computers, yet can't quite live without them.

We know you get frustrated when we don't answer your e-mails right away, but the simple truth is, the idea of writing all these letters (in our mind a letter is a letter) not just once or twice a month, but every day for crying out loud, is just too much work to keep up with.

Another truly frustrating thing about e-mail is that people used to talk to each other more when they planned special get togethers. But now many people just send an e-mail, and if they don't hear back from you, they assume you're not interested. Well, allow me to clarify something. If there's food, I'm interested. And I'm not the only one in that camp.

Every new invention is a two-edged sword, a blessing and a curse. It is said that an ancient philosopher once worried that paper and the ability to write should be considered a dangerous invention. It would hinder the development of memory in young people.

Thankfully, he was overruled and they allowed the invention of paper and writing instruments. Written history. What would we do without it? But I have a lot more sympathy for him now, as I see some of the older ways of doing things giving way to the new.

Don't mind me. I'm carrying on an old and venerable tradition of heralding the dawn with complaining, just as many old-timers did when they first saw television. (Dang contraption will be the ruin of young people.)

In the meantime, try to forgive those of us who can't quite embrace e-mail as you may have. You can still reach me by snail mail. I'm getting more into that snail mode myself these days anyway.

What's all this hurry about? Where are we going so fast that we don't have time to stop and watch a sunset along the way, or to write a letter on real paper scented with lavender and sealed with a small part of our hearts?

Someone will probably come up with a truly clever answer to that question and will no doubt send it to me in an e-mail. I'll read it for sure. I love reading my letters when I get to them. In fact, I've saved almost all of them.

It's just that I may not get around to answering it. Not because I don't care, but because life is short. And there's so much to do along the way.

Susan Hanley Lane, a Times-News community columnist, lives in Naples. Her Web page is currently being updated.

<p>I've been wondering lately how the Romans ever built roads all over Europe or George Washington ever ran the Revolutionary War without e-mail. In fact, how did we get the Magna Charta, the Mayflower Compact, the U.S. Constitution, and the wherewithal to put a man on the moon without e-mail?</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>The modern world has developed an absolute obsession with communication. Suddenly people who never wrote a letter to anyone are sending everyone they know e-mails. You have to wonder if there was a sudden rush to write letters in the days when the Pony Express first developed the idea of fast communication.</p><p>Here's a well-kept historical secret: We used to do something very similar with a pen and paper and a stamp.</p><p>But it seems that these days we've grown so accustomed to instant communication that we've forgotten how sweet it is to have a letter where we can see the person's handwriting, savor the touch of their hand on the paper and touch it ourselves. An interesting thought to consider: What if some genius decides our kids don't need to learn to write in longhand anymore, in the same way that some have already decided they don't need to learn to do math in their heads anymore? What happens when they don't have a calculator handy and their brains haven't developed that set of skills?</p><p>Or what if we actually decided that paper is too environmentally costly and we need to stick to e-mails? Each form of communication has its place and importance. It is when we allow new methods to totally eclipse the old that we're in danger of losing something many do not understand the value of, like old letters that still smell of the one who wrote them.</p><p>Few people realize how much we've lost touch with each other because of modern communication methods. Isn't that ironic? The very thing that's supposed to keep us in touch instead slips more and more distance between us. How often have we been frustrated to hear, "I don't have time to talk right now, but send me an e-mail?"</p><p>There is absolutely no substitute for the interaction of human beings face to face, or voice to voice. How many confused students in college have asked their professors to advise them and been told to jot down their request in an e-mail?</p><p>Also, there are people who send on every funny, clever, informative e-mail they get to everyone they know. The problem is, most of them really are worth reading, many even worth saving. But how much of this can you deal with and still have time to go on with your life?</p><p>Doesn't it make you wonder how many gems of wisdom and wit you missed all those years before e-mail? And how on earth did the entire human race ever stay in business before the United States Postal Service went into operation?</p><p>Then there is the simple fact that there are still some of us who don't sit down with our mail immediately. You know the saying, old habits die hard? Unfortunately, there are a lot of us in that gray zone where we hate computers, yet can't quite live without them.</p><p>We know you get frustrated when we don't answer your e-mails right away, but the simple truth is, the idea of writing all these letters (in our mind a letter is a letter) not just once or twice a month, but every day for crying out loud, is just too much work to keep up with.</p><p>Another truly frustrating thing about e-mail is that people used to talk to each other more when they planned special get togethers. But now many people just send an e-mail, and if they don't hear back from you, they assume you're not interested. Well, allow me to clarify something. If there's food, I'm interested. And I'm not the only one in that camp.</p><p>Every new invention is a two-edged sword, a blessing and a curse. It is said that an ancient philosopher once worried that paper and the ability to write should be considered a dangerous invention. It would hinder the development of memory in young people.</p><p>Thankfully, he was overruled and they allowed the invention of paper and writing instruments. Written history. What would we do without it? But I have a lot more sympathy for him now, as I see some of the older ways of doing things giving way to the new.</p><p>Don't mind me. I'm carrying on an old and venerable tradition of heralding the dawn with complaining, just as many old-timers did when they first saw television. (Dang contraption will be the ruin of young people.)</p><p>In the meantime, try to forgive those of us who can't quite embrace e-mail as you may have. You can still reach me by snail mail. I'm getting more into that snail mode myself these days anyway.</p><p>What's all this hurry about? Where are we going so fast that we don't have time to stop and watch a sunset along the way, or to write a letter on real paper scented with lavender and sealed with a small part of our hearts?</p><p>Someone will probably come up with a truly clever answer to that question and will no doubt send it to me in an e-mail. I'll read it for sure. I love reading my letters when I get to them. In fact, I've saved almost all of them.</p><p>It's just that I may not get around to answering it. Not because I don't care, but because life is short. And there's so much to do along the way.</p><p>Susan Hanley Lane, a Times-News community columnist, lives in Naples. Her Web page is currently being updated.</p>